Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you :
I am Lina Kusaite. I was born in Lithuania in the surroundings of nature, gardens and animals and had an amazing childhood that I bring across into my present activities. I studied fashion and textile design in Holland and France and decided to keep on looking for what is still out there in the world.
I have been part of a cultural organization where we were building interactive spaces and playing around with our dreams and the dreams of others. My life has been and is full of real magic, fun, struggles, amazing learnings and beautiful friendships. I am an illustrator, I create eco-artistic education programs for schools and cultural organizations and I also give one to one consciousness coaching sessions. I am crazy about nature and love creating from and with it.
Your current job :
I am a freelancer and at this moment am working on a Plant Kingdom project in the education framework for schools and also creating and delivering a number of workshops about natural gardening as a connection tool for societies.
I am working on several illustration projects and am expecting to start illustrating a series of books with wonderful person in Australia.
In which city are you located?
Brussels, Belgium
A word to define what kind of worker you are :
Endlessly creative, determine, a very big believer in what I do and I can be pushy 🙂
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
My body, and then pencil, water-colours, a computer, and plants………. What ever is around me.
What does your office space look like?
see picture
What kind of music do you listen when you are working ?
Very different depending on what work I am doing. Now, I am listening to “We Are Young” by Janelle Monáe
I have number a of soviet animations that I grew up with which inspire me a lot. Yesterday I was listening to Philip Glass.
Very recently I discovered Dark Dark Dark’s “In Your Dreams” – I think I am getting hooked on this song.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work ?
To start with, I surround myself with work that I love doing. I start the day with something I am excited about – trusting in what I want and what drives me in the moment. If I have number of emails to reply to or texts to write and I am not very happy about these task – I make a “to do list” and just follow it until it’s done.
I give myself a time frame for every task.
I make sure I have enough time for rest and pleasure.
What tips would you give to improve productivity ?
Trust your guts, do what you love doing, share your passion with others and be truthful to yourself. Don’t forget to ask for help if you stuck.
You’re better than your colleagues to :
To be honest, I don’t think I am better – I might be different or know something more in depth, but – better? I wouldn’t call it like that 🙂
What is the best advice anyone has given you ?
My teacher in my art school gave this. I also wanted to get the highest grade for my drawings, so I thought if I bring a large number of drawings and do a lot of homeworks I would get the highest score. I was always getting 8 or 9 out of 10 – and this was not enough for me. One day my drawing teacher told me – “Its not about how many you make, it’s about the quality of your drawings.” In the end, I think the number also matters because this brought me to a much higher level of quality.
What is your best tip for saving time ?
Do what you love and enjoy the process.
What is your routine start and end of the day ?
Start of the day: I nearly always start very slowly, having my coffee time and enjoying the morning. I speak with my loved ones – and Skype with them if they are not around. Looking through different social media.
End of the day: I watch a movie into my sleep.
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not go without?
My wallet, bank cards and clothes 🙂